Popular
by BerryLovely
Summary: Roles have been reversed this time around. Rachel Berry is popular. Finn Hudson is a loser. These two cliques are forbidden to interact...but what happens when these two fall in love at first sight?
1. Hello

Okay, so there's some role-reversals here, and also some OOC behaviour, though this is a fanfic, so that means that is OOOKAY! :D .. XD

I do not own Glee. What I do own, is my unhealthy obsession with it. I take this obsession, I stir it in with sugar and spice, add some food colouring, and what the heck – cheese, I love cheese, but not all cheese…and then I put it over a pot and stir. Results may vary! (That probably sounds completely gross, but, eh. This is just a disclaimer :P Haha.)

Enjoy!

………………………………………………….

**Chapter 1: Hello**

Rachel flipped her hair back over her shoulders so she could fiddle with it while she talked to her friends. It was hard to pay attention to each one of them, so sometimes fidgeting helped., especially when they were all squawking at the same time. She smiled that genuine, pearly-white smile she was so famous for and the room would swoon. It felt great to be the most popular girl in school.

………………………………………………….

She was dressed beautifully today too, a navy blue top with a gold bow across her chest, and a short red skirt complimented by her beautiful hands folded neatly in her lap, keeping her perfect posture in place, though she did occasionally reach up to twirl her hair on her finger. She always looked so involved in her conversations, that he wondered if her eyes had ever wandered his way. Though, why would they? He was a loser, a nobody. She was the star of their school, the lead in every school play and musical. Her eyes may not have wandered, but his eyes always remained on her, and Finn Hudson hoped that maybe one day, she would feel it, and glance over at him, because just a glance, would kill.

"Are you actually going to eat your lunch Finn? Or should I sit here, feeling insulted as you gawk at some other girl?"

"Sorry, Quinn…."

He couldn't even look at her, his own girlfriend, so he moved his eyes over to his sandwich. Quinn Fabray was the captain of the Cheerios, William McKinley High School's cheerleading squad, and he was the captain of the football and basketball team. That's right, the bottom of the popularity pyramid, because all jocks were stupid, or so says the stereotype. In this school, the talented students ran things, and threw slushies in the faces of those they deemed unworthy of being cool. Finn couldn't possibly tell you how many slushies to the face he had taken, for he had lost count some time ago.

"You're looking at Berry, aren't you Finn?"

No answer. Why would he admit it – especially to his girlfriend?

"…There's no point because there's no chance of you getting with her. She' s the most popular girl in school, I'm sure there's other guys she can mess around with instead of some stupid jock like you."

"Hey!"

"Oh, yeah right, Finn. Don't even try to act like you're not stupid!"

"Yeah…even my cat's smarter than you…he reads my diary…."

…Sure. Finn completely ignored Santana and Brittany, because they only ever followed Quinn around and were annoying most of the time. Who were they to tell him he was stupid? A cat who reads your diary? REALLY? Finn may not be the brightest crayon in the box, but he's better off than those two.

Just then, Quinn gagged, and quickly threw her hand up to cover her mouth.

"You okay?"

"Yes…just…I think this fish is making me sick…?"

"Fish again…when will they have chicken?"

"Look, while you wonder about our school's disgusting menu, I'm going to the ladies room…please excuse me."

And with that, Quinn excused herself from the table, Santana and Brittany following close behind, pinkie's locked. Great, now he was alone…sort of. He could always talk to his supposed "best friend" Noah Puckerman, aka Puck, but that conversation would just lead to how many girls Puck managed to fuck last weekend. Puck always smiled at that too, thinking "Oh yeah, dude, I totally love how that rhymes! It was just made for me!" Finn would just roll his eyes, dreaming of a "world" where there weren't stereotypical relationships and friends. He wanted to be friends with someone he could actually relate to! Not some always-horny-douche bag.

"Yo, so check out Santana Lopez, right? Duuuude, she is…man…she's freaky, if you know what I mean….it's like…"

And that's when Finn zoned out again, leaving planet sandwich/douche and heading toward the Rachel Berryverse.

"Dude…you listening?"

_Not really_. _Too busy staring at a girl I'll never have._ He thought to himself.

………………………………………………….

"Rachel, did you want to rehearse that group song we have to do for Glee club?"

Okay, this was getting boring – she had to admit it. She'd been spacing out for the past 20 minutes, eyes glued to her grape slushie in front of her, swirling the contents around with her straw, not particularly interested in what any of her "friends" were saying. She wished she could make friends she actually had things in common with. These girls weren't even really into musical theatre, or theatre for that matter. They only pretended they were to get close to her, to become part of the clique. She still remembered the day they were having a discussion about "Wicked", and one of the girls asked her who Kristen Chenoweth was, then later on wrongly pronounced Idina Menzel's name. How dare she! That was just suicide!

"Rach? You listening?"

"Hm?"

"That guy over there has been staring at you since we got here."

"Who?"

"Shh, he's still looking over here, don't make it too obvious."

"I don't care about obvious; I want to know who is looking at me!"

She darted her head around wildly, anticipating something – ANYTHING really, to happen – and then…her eyes rested on him, and she felt locked into his gaze, unable to look at anyone else. He was gorgeous. The most gorgeous specimen of the opposite sex she'd ever laid eyes on. His hair was dark brown, and a bit ruffled on his head, but it looked cute, and although his skin was very pale, his dreamy chocolate eyes forbid her to look anywhere else. They had captivated her. It was as if he was some sort of God in her eyes She felt it – Rachel Berry was feeling something she had never felt before in her life! Her heart fluttered, her throat felt clogged, she felt nauseas, and above all, she was choking on words, and she wasn't even speaking. She did however, manage to smile, all her attention still focusing on this boy. She'd never felt this before, and lord knows she was a COMPLETE stranger to stage fright. Rachel Berry was never nervous, yet here she was, sitting across the cafeteria from some random guy she'd never even knew existed, in some sort of a staring contest. He was winning.

"Eww…Rachel…he's a jock. He probably can't even sing a note in tune."

"What makes you think that?"

She managed to say without breaking the gaze between her and this new found interest.

Is this…love?

………………………………………………….

"Dude… you are SO checking out Berry right now."

"Then again, when isn't he checking her out?"

The guys laughed it out as he just stared and stared. He didn't mean to seem creepy, she just really captivated him. He still hoped one day she would look at him…and today, was that day. He saw as she nonchalantly whipped her head about, looking for something or someone, and then her eyes stopped on him. His heart skipped a beat the moment he noticed her noticing him.

_Wait, is she noticing me noticing her noticing me? Stop that Finn, you're confusing yourself. _He couldn't help it, his head was jumbled and in a big mess. This was the day he was waiting for! Rachel Berry was looking at him! And then he watched her cute little lips curve up into a smile. _She's smiling at ME?_ _What does that mean?_ More importantly, Finn's ultimate question was "What do I do now?" He had never thought this far into the plan.

"Berry is totally checking out our boy Finn. Maybe you'll be the first in her pants, buddy?"

Puck held his hand up for a high five, but Finn took this time to completely ignore him and – well, smile back. He felt something building up within him, nothing like the way he felt when he first laid eyes on Quinn Fabray. Oh no, this was something completely new to him.

As choked up as she felt, Rachel needed to release this feeling and see where it took her. As if thinking the same thing from across the room, her gawking stranger seemed to be ready to join her.

_Hello Twelve_

_Hello Thirteen_

_Hello Love__…_

They shyly waved to each other, smiles still intact.

_Changes oh__…_

_Down below, up above__…_

And just like that, the two stood abruptly in unison, gaining the attention of the whole room.

_Time to doubt_

_To break out_

_It's a mess_

_Time to grow time to go, adolesce!_

After practically sprinting across the room, they finally found each other, holding hands and getting lost in each others eyes, as if there was no one else in the room.

_There's a lot I am not certain of_

_Hello Twelve, Hello Thirteen, Hello Love! _

"Hi…"

"H-Hi…"

"Finn?"

The moment was ruined by one jealous girlfriend by the name of

"Quinn?"

"What are you DOING?"

Her eyes darted angrily from him, down to their hands, and then at Rachel.

"I was, uh…"

"Pardon me, but…"

Rachel quickly let go of Finn, smoothing out her skirt with her hands and clearing her throat, looking all too professional.

"I called him over from across the room to speak with me."

"What for?"

"We're….science partners. We have an assignment together."

Rachel glanced over at him. They did? Finn couldn't remember that happening…?

"You do?"

Quinn asked, her eyebrow raising in suspicion.

"Yes, but… you wouldn't have known about it. My dads play a big part in our PTA meetings, and as they were discussing the curriculum at the last gathering, it was decided there would be a group project in science class, giving us an amazing opportunity to acquire better teamwork skills."

Finn looked over at Quinn, who was fuming, but couldn't do anything. Neither could he if he wasn't enjoying this so much right now. Though every word out of Rachel's mouth was probably a load of bullshit, he loved every minute of how intimidating she sounded.

"Uh…huh."

Was all Quinn had managed to get out before marching forward, grabbing Finn's hand, and pulling him in the opposite direction of Rachel.

"Finn – we're leaving – NOW."

Finn looked back as he was being dragged away, only to see Rachel still smiling at him sweetly, and mouthing a quick "bye" followed by a small, not to mention adorable, wave.

_There's a lot I am not certain of__…_

_Goodbye Twelve__…_

_Goodbye Thirteen__…_

_Hello Love. _

…………………………………………

Ahhh totally just a beta fanfic, but I'm glad I at least got one chapter done! :D Please let me know what you think! :D I usually keep my Fichel/Finchel fanfics to myself because it has been quite a while since I've written fanfiction on forums in the past, and I feel like I've lost my touch. But this one seems to be okay I guess. Unless you all think it sucks…I'll stop blabbing now! :D

Live & Love GLEE!


	2. Dream A Little Dream Of Me

A/N: Uuggggh soo pissed right now. Having one of many FML moments in my life right now – but in order to get away from that and NOT kill someone, I'm going to reply to some reviews :) First of all – thank you ALL for reviewing! :D It really means a lot to me, and made me smile when I read them. Reviews are like creative juices for authors :P Makes us want to write more! It did take me a while to write this chapter since I've been juggling work and school, but it is done! I do feel it's on the short side, but bear with me here. Okay! Comment time!

To all of those who said this is amazing: Thank you! I think you're all amazing! :' D I wanted to cry when I saw so many reviews spilling in! It really has been a long time since my last fanfic, (non Glee-related :( ) so I'm glad to see I've still got it! :)

Vanay: As said earlier, you are amazing for pointing out such subtleties as the "Filming You Filming Me" scene in my story (from Cory and Dianna's video diaries) and Cory's fish song from that interview he did! :P Amazing spotting there!

BerryFabulous: Kudos for noticing the same lie about being Science partners that Rachel used in the actual pilot of the show! ;D

BluesDJ: Didn't necessarily mean this chapter, the "OC Warning" is for if there are any potential OC moments in future chapters ;) And as for the singing, right now I'm sticking to it being dream sequences. If there are any actual singing parts later, I'll try to notify everyone :)

I want to comment to each and every one of you, but then this part would go way longer than the actual chapter! Thank you sooo much – all of you for commenting! Your comments/love for this fanfic is my fuel to keep going! I love when you go in depth and tell me what parts you especially loved as well! I can't say this enough! THANK YOU!

FINCHEL/FICHEL FTW! 3

I do not own Glee. What I do own, is my unhealthy obsession with it. I take this obsession, I stir it in with sugar and spice, add some food colouring, and what the heck – cheese, I love cheese, but not all cheese…and then I put it over a pot and stir. Results may vary! (That probably sounds completely gross, but, eh. This is just a disclaimer :P Haha.)

**Chapter 2: ****Dream A Little Dream Of Me**

It had been a day since that Rachel Berry scene in the cafeteria and yet Finn missed her already, which was weird, because it wasn't like they were dating. He kept repeating the moment in his head, it was too unreal to be…real. He often had to convince himself that it actually happened, but then he had no concrete proof that it did. It's not like things magically changed and he became popular – he was still the same old "jock" and everyone still treated him the same way. Quinn had occupied most of his time after what had happened at lunch, he didn't even have time to notice if Rachel wanted to talk to him or something. Just the thought of it bugged him as he trudged off to English class. Another day of being invisible for Finn. The hallways were busy as usual. For such a small school in a small town, there seemed to be an endless flow of kids in the hall – he rarely remembered a moment when they were empty.

"Ah, good morning class."

The bell rang just as Finn stepped through the door – his eyes latching on to the first person he noticed in the class. Here goes another hour of staring at perfection and not being able to have it. Finn zoned in and out of the lesson – mostly out – as he looked at Rachel. Her hair was different today. Instead of wearing it down, she wore it in a ponytail on the side of her head. It looked quite cute with her pink top and blue plaid skirt. Finally when the teacher left for a "washroom break" like she did every morning, (she'd be gone for quite a while too) the class had this opportunity to talk amongst themselves, though they usually just stuck to their cliques. He doesn't remember how he ended up doing so, but Finn noticed he seemed to be staring at some stupid drawing on his desk, and he wondered when exactly his gaze had wandered.

"Hi…"

He looked up, greeted by a pearly-white smile, brown eyes, and a face all-too-familiar to him.

"Oh – uh…hi!"

"So, um…I never got your name yesterday?"

"Oh yeah it's uh H-Hudson –"

"Your name is Hudson?"

"Well – a-ah it's actually Finn Hudson."

"…Finn, huh? Nice to meet you Finn."

She smiled, giggling slightly at his inability to speak the English language in this ever-appropriate environment for such things.

"My name is –"

"Rachel Berry. I know. N-Not that I'm a stalker who – like - watches you all the time or anything it's just that everyone knows you 'cause you're the most popular girl in school and stuff!"

He blushed – despising his word vomit, and he'd swear if he could guess how he looked right now – he'd say a tomato. Rachel giggled again.

"You're adorable."

…Did Rachel Berry just call him adorable?

"I should get going back to my seat, but um…maybe we could talk again sometime?"

YES! YES PLEASE! Was what he had wanted to shout that instant, but he managed to stay composed and just give her a smile and a nod of approval. She could talk to him anytime she wanted about anything she wanted. He didn't care so long as she knew he existed – and if that sounds sad, then Finn Hudson is a sad, sad man.

…

_Was I brimming with confidence? _ She wondered to herself, because she sure didn't feel like it. What she did feel – was that she was a walking train wreck.

_WHAT is going on with me? I'm RACHEL BERRY – guys would kill to get a date with me – and here I am struggling to speak to a guy who isn't even remotely as popular as I am! _

"Samantha…"

"Huh?"

"Did I look in control?"

"What?"

"When I was talking to Finn-"

"Who?"

"Ugh – that guy over there. Did I – um…did I look really confident when I was talking to him?"

"Oh uh…yeah, I guess? Sorry, I wasn't really paying attention – but you always look super-confident Rachel!"

…Well, gee, that helped. Now to get an answer from someone who wasn't a total space-case. Her eyes wandered over to Finn – until she noticed he was staring at her again. She quickly darted her eyes upward, as if pretending she didn't do what she just did.

_I was not looking at you Finn Hudson, I was looking at this interesting ceiling in all its tiled glory. Oh what a beautiful tiled ceiling – it is so beautiful in fact that I will just keep staring at it for the whole period! I've never been SO intrigued by such articulate work! Each tile placed__…_

"Rachel?"

"Huh?"

"Are you doing that thing where you did something but you don't want someone to know so you look at something else and begin over-analyzing it and narrating in your head what's so fascinating about it?"

"W-What? N-No…of course not. What reason would I have to do that?"

"You were about to stare at that loser, weren't you?"

"He's not a loser!"

"Whatever you say…don't fall for him or anything."

_Too late. _ She thought as she bit her bottom lip.

"'Cause if you do…it's **over**, Berry – **you're over**."

_O-Over? _ Was that true? If she even associated herself with him, would all of her popularity really disappear so fast? The popularity she had achieved? The reputation she worked so hard to build up would all crumble within a matter of seconds? But what was the problem? Just because he was labelled a jock, and supposedly stupid, and she was the young ingénue everyone rooted for…meant they couldn't fall in love? Let alone – be friends?

_This can't be right, Rachel! __**YOU **__are the star. __**YOU**__ run things. This school and its pathetic bunch of low-lives who aren't nearly as talented as you don't control you! If you want to talk to a loser, you will do just that! If you want to gaze over at him once in a while during class__…_

Her eyes shyly wandered over to him again, locking on to his.

_You will be allowed to due so without criticisms__…__If you want to__…__kiss those perfect lips__…_ Her eyes wandered down to his lips now, and she subconsciously licked her bottom lip, and began to bite it again.

_You__…__NO! Snap out of it Rachel! _She shut her eyes tightly and shook her head, which seemed to work for her, though Finn probably thought she was crazy now.

_I'm sooo cool, I just HAD to shake my head like a retard instead of just looking in a different direction. Self control, Rachel, self control. __You barely know this boy! You don't want to grind on him and make out! __…__Scratch that wonderful imagery. _

…_._

He wondered what she could possibly be thinking while she shook her head. Was she not-so-secretly rejecting him because he wasn't popular?

The rest of class had gone by pretty horribly. She didn't look over at him once, not even the slightest peek over the shoulder. Finn felt defeated. Just when it seemed things were looking up, he was suddenly put back in his place. He went through his schedule in his head: Science was next, and then he wouldn't see her again for the rest of the day, besides lunch, maybe. He had gym class while Rachel had dance. Basically, Finn had another chance to redeem himself; he just didn't know how he was going to do it.

The bell rang, transitioning into another classroom. Finn slumped down into his seat, still unsure of what to do next. He had to remind himself that Rachel Berry was not a prize to be won, she was but a dream he could never quite reach until now. As she waltzed into the classroom, his eyes followed her until she seated herself on the opposite side of the room.

"Now class, about that group work…you will need partners"

Of course you'd need partners! Was this his opportunity? Things like this always happened between the two lead people who liked each other in movies and stuff, right? This was always the opportunity for them to get together somehow! …But what if Rachel didn't want him as a partner? What if she chooses someone else?

"I will let you decide amongst yourselves who those partners will be. Go on."

He watched, but made sure it wasn't too obvious. The students had formed a small circle around her, as if there was a line up to request her partnership, but she shook her head with each and every request. As the line diminished, she stood up, and made her way over toward him.

_Is she? _

Yes, she was walking straight over to one Finn Hudson.

"Hi Finn."

She smiled, the name rolling sweetly off of her tongue, he couldn't help but feel a bit nervous.

"H-Hi Rachel…"

"So I was wondering…"

Her eyes slowly wandered down toward the floor, and her finger began playing with a lock of hair that had gone astray out of that high ponytail. Was Rachel Berry shy?

"…Did you want to be my partner for the assignment?"

His heart skipped a beat, and he felt his face flush.

"Sure! Sounds awesome!"

_Way to sound like some creep! I probably came off WAY too eager._

She smiled, almost as if in relief.

"Great. Let's go get a table."

She skilfully reached down for his hand, and pulled on his arm, beckoning for him to get up. Her hand remained within his, leading him to their table. She smiled at him again as she sat down. Finn tried to replay in his head what had just happened, because it didn't seem real.

"Shall we start?"

"Okay"

He said with a quick nod, too distracted in his little fantasy theatre in his head. To this moment, he still had no idea what exactly they had to do for this project. He looked up at Rachel, a bit embarrassed of his lack of knowledge.

"So what's this assignment about?"

"Oh…"

She nonchalantly turned her head to the side, a coy smile forming on her face.

"…I guess you could say it's an experiment."

Finn, confused by her curious actions, questioned further.

"Really? What kind of experiment?"

Before he could ask if they were gonna "blow shit up", Rachel had turned back to him, smirking playfully.

"…An experiment…to see what you taste like…"

And before he could even register what she had said, have time to think about it, and reply with "Wait OMGWTFBBQ?" she had closed the distance between them. Her lips gently brushed against his. The taste of cherry lip-gloss lingered as she deepened their "experiment". She took his bottom lip between her teeth, and tugged on it.

_Whoa. _

Was all his brain could manage to put together at the moment. He felt her tongue brush past the edge of his lip, as her hand smoothly and skilfully massaged his leg.

Just then – he could feel it. He felt the heat, the smouldering fire burning within him. He felt the tension build up – _down there. _

_Oh shit! _

He was getting too turned on by this. Any more playtime with Miss Berry would surely result in…chaos. He had to stop this now. He shut his eyes tightly. What was the best method to get rid of this?

_Dead kittens__…__no more sour patches__…__fish in the cafeteria AGAIN? __…__MAIL MAN! MAIL MAN! _

"…"

"…Um…Finn?"

His eyes shot open immediately, taking in his surroundings.

"Is something wrong?"

There was Rachel, standing in front of his desk, completely confused as to why "would you like to be my partner" seemed to be such a difficult question. After all, she was awaiting an answer, and had heard nothing yet from the guy.

"Huh?"

She sighed, still a bit confused, but letting it go with a small smile.

"I asked you if you'd like to be my partner for the assignment?"

"Oh…yeah sure!"

He smiled, wondering what the hell had just happened.

Was that…did he just imagine that?

He stood up and joined Rachel at the table she had chosen for them to work at. She grabbed the microscope, and started the project, as Finn thought about what he had seen.

…And you know, Finn still had no idea what the hell this assignment was about.

….

Despite me feeling that it's a bit short, I like the way this chapter turned out. Hopefully you do too! Don't forget to review! …Wow, that rhymed! LOL.

Live & Love GLEE!


	3. Taking Chances

A/N: Sooo wasn't the Glee finale FLIPPIN AMAZING! My fave ep so far :D 3 Hope you enjoy this!

I do not own Glee. What I do own, is my unhealthy obsession with it. I take this obsession, I stir it in with sugar and spice, add some food colouring, and what the heck – cheese, I love cheese, but not all cheese…and then I put it over a pot and stir. Results may vary! (That probably sounds completely gross, but, eh. This is just a disclaimer :P Haha.)

**Chapter 3: Taking Chances**

Finn sat there awkwardly, unsure of what to do with himself. There she was, Rachel Berry, sitting next to him, and he currently had a hard on from the fantasy about her. If she only happened to drop something on the floor, or for some reason if she were to look down, she would notice, and most likely freak out. He had to get rid of it somehow or at least go somewhere else for a few minutes. He looked up from the table to the teacher sitting at his desk. How could he get out of the room without bringing too much attention to himself? If even one student noticed he had an erection, it would be over.

"Um…sir? Can I go to the washroom?"

"I don't know Mr. Hudson, CAN you?"

He hit himself over the head mentally, forgetting what assholes teachers could be over that question if you didn't phrase it the way they wanted you to.

"I mean, MAY I go to the washroom, please?"

"You may. No fooling around though. Go directly there and come straight back. No dawdling."

"Yes sir…"

Finn said as he carefully got out of his seat, tugging his shirt down so it would cover Finn Jr. Rachel looked up at him and smiled, then looked back down to the microscope.

_Phew! She didn't notice! _

If he wasn't a dude, Finn would have skipped happily to the bathroom in relief.

…

_I wonder what that was all about earlier__…__Mail man? What does that even mean? And why did it take him so long to answer my question? Could I be coming on too strong? _

Rachel tapped her pen in a rhythmic motion while staring into the microscope. She actually had no idea what she was staring at, since her mind had been preoccupied with other matters. Finn had not spoken to her yet, and they were 15 minutes into the project. She had to admit she felt awkward, because she's the one that asked him to be partners, thinking she'd get to know him better. Did she do something wrong? Now he was in the washroom, hopefully actually needing to use it and not just trying to ditch her. Had she scared him away somehow? She went through it in her head, and found nothing creepy about her actions. Was he just a weirdo?

"So Rachel…"

"Huh?"

Her head whipped upward, seeing Sam standing before her, hands on her hips, mouth in a pout.

"What's up with asking dorkstick to be your partner?"

"I don't know, I just wanted to know what he was like or something?"

"Yeah well, thanks to your stupid curiosity over LOSERS, I'm stuck working with Jacob Ben Israel. Thanks Rachel, thanks a lot. You're so cool."

Rachel looked over to Sam's table, and there sat the creepiest guy she had ever met – Jacob Ben Israel. He had asked her for a pair of her worn panties once, and he used every opportunity he had to stalk her. Could he get any creepier? Jacob smiled and waved, mouthing the words "You're gorgeous" when he saw her looking at him. Rachel's face crinkled in disgust, and she mouthed a simple reply of "ew" to his compliment.

"He keeps asking me about you – it's getting annoying."

"Sorry…"

"Yeah you should be. Friends don't ditch other friends and make them get stuck with Jacob Ben Creepy over there. I hope your little experiment is all worth it Rachel – though in my opinion it isn't. Keep hanging out with that jock and you're bound to become an **outcast**. A **loser, shunned by the whole school**. How does a **slushy facial** sound?"

"S-Slushy facial?"

She had witnessed them before – and they didn't look too fantastic. The drink drenching you from head to toe, making your clothes, not to mention your body all wet and sticky - corn syrup dripping into your eye…no way. No one would DARE give Rachel Berry a slushy facial! …Would they?

"You bet your ass! Watch it, Berry. You don't want to hit the bottom…it's _**bad**_ down at the bottom."

….

Lunch time came again, and Finn sat down at his regular table, watching and waiting for some sign from Rachel. When he had returned from his little "washroom break" in science class, she hadn't said a word to him even though he tried to make conversation with her.

_She didn't notice, did she? _

"Look somewhere else, or I will stab your eyes out of your stupid potato head!"

Quinn walked up, slamming her tray down onto the table. Finn jumped in surprise and immediately looked at her.

"Hi Quinn!"

"Whatever. Don't even talk to me. I heard what happened in your stupid science class."

"Y-you did?"

That's it. If word had traveled about – Finn Jr. he was surely a goner.

"So you two did have a project together after all? And I thought that bitch was lying yesterday…"

"She's not a bitch, she's actually –"

"Shut up, Finn. I'm smart, and you're dumb. Who's talking right now? I AM. –"

He stopped listening at that moment. How exactly did he even end up with Quinn Fabray? Did he actually love her? Or was this a result of being in a clique and dating who you're SUPPOSED to date? He couldn't remember if he ever did like her, but all he knew now is that he didn't anymore. All she ever did was pick on him, talk down to him, and call him names. No one really likes abusive relationships. What do you gain out of them? He'd have to find a way to break up with Quinn.

"Hey bro!"

Not expecting to receive such a hard slap on the back, Finn cringed in pain as Puck sat back in a chair and put his feet up on the table, completely ignoring the fact that people were trying to eat.

"So, give me the dirty details! 'You suck those berries yet?"

"What?"

"Berry – did you fuck her yet?"

"Dude, what the hell!"

"Puck, what the hell is wrong with you? He's dating me!"

"Doesn't mean he can't get some on the side, right man? I mean, Santana and I fuck pretty much every day but she and Brittany do each other too! …Actually, speakin' of that, it'd be fuckin' awesome if we had a threesome…"

"Puck – eww! Shut up!"

"You can join us too if you want, babe!"

Finn got up, tired of the drama at his table, and walked toward Rachel's table. She looked over at him, noticing him walking toward her, and she stood up, making him freeze in his place. He watched to see what she was going to do next.

And with that, she walked out of the cafeteria. Finn's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Had he really done something wrong?

…..

"Oh god, he's looking over here again."

Sam said, rolling her eyes in annoyance, and then proceeding to look at Rachel.

"If he tries to make any contact with you, we're leaving, got it? We can't have you lose your popularity, Rachel. You mean too much to us. You don't even know if this guy will turn in to some douchebag like that best friend of his."

Rachel just sat in silence, staring down at the table. She was so unsure of what she should do. Maybe her friends would be right about him? Maybe she should listen to them? What was that saying again? Chicks before - ?

"He probably just wants to date you because you're popular and – shit, he's coming over here. Rachel, we need to move – now."

What could he have wanted? He probably wanted to ask her why she didn't talk to him earlier, but she couldn't! What about getting a slushy facial? She didn't want one of those. She abruptly stood up, spun around, and headed toward the exit of the cafeteria. She felt his eyes burning through her with questions, and all she could do was steal one last glance toward him on her way out.

….

"Finn, what are you doing? Sit down!"

Ignoring his girlfriend, Finn walked toward the exit of the cafeteria.

"Finn – I said sit down! Finn!"

Quinn yelled, but to no avail, watching as he left, and she knew he was going after Rachel.

He searched frantically for her through the hallways. He looked for that certain way she would walk – so unique compared to everyone else. Her hands would swing at her sides, and she would walk like she had a purpose, some sort of mission.

"Rachel!"

He called out, spotting her by her locker. He felt his throat tighten, and his tongue felt like it was in a knot. He was struggling for air. After such a daring move as to call out to her, he wasn't sure what to do next. It was all pure instinct to take control, but he didn't know what exactly he wanted to say to her.

He watched as she whipped around at the sound of her name being yelled.

"Yes?"

She immediately blurted out, then froze in place when she noticed who exactly had called her name.

"Oh…Finn."

Oh Finn? Was that all she could say to him? He took a deep breath, swallowed hard, and hoped his word vomit would be some sort of an advantage this time.

"So what was that all about?"

"…What was what all about?"

"You – in science class – not talking to me, and then just now – walking out of the cafeteria? You know, the way you keep talking makes me think you want to be friends with me, but then you start acting all weird and not talking to me at all! I'm confused, Rachel!"

Wow, he was impressed with the way that came out, and apparently, so was she. Her eyes widened in shock at his bold statement, and then she shut them tightly, as if ready to explain something to him.

"I-I'm sorry….I didn't mean to, it's just that –"

SPLAT. What was that? Rachel opened her eyes to see Finn completely drenched in slush. Her mouth opened in astonishment, taking in the sight.

"F-Finn!"

"That's what you get for stalking her all the time, loser!"

"What the hell?"

Finn gave his arms a good flick, as Rachel flinched, dodging the slush as it flew off of his arms, his clothes already completely soaked and sticky.

"Could this day get any worse?"

She watched as he sighed heavily, and stood there in defeat.

"Finn…are you all right?"

_Of course he isn't! What a stupid question to ask, Rachel. Way to go! _

"What is wrong with you? Why would you do this to him?"

She turned around angrily. The girls just walked away, snickering. Sam turned to Rachel and shrugged before she left.

"…Come with me."

She grabbed his hand, leading him away from the hallway, and into the girl's washroom. If this were a normal situation, Finn would question going in to the girl's washroom, but this time he just followed her.

"We need to get you cleaned up."

She said, grabbing a towel out from her bag.

"You carry a towel with you?"

She shrugged, smiling sheepishly.

"Dance class…it's good to keep it on you. I mean, it's pretty convenient that I have it on me now, isn't it?"

She took the towel, dampened it under the flowing water from the tap, and then proceeded to dab at his face.

"I'm so sorry…"

"Why are you apologizing?"

"Because…what they did -"

"Exactly, they did it. So why are you apologizing? It wasn't your fault, Rachel."

"But it was wrong!"

He smiled slightly, a chuckle escaping his mouth.

"What's so funny?"

She frowned, wondering why he would laugh at such a time.

"I'm used to this Rachel. Sure, it's wrong – but it happens."

"…This has happened to you more than once?"

"…Yeah. I'm usually the target they aim for."

"And you let them get away with it?"

"I deal with it. There's nothing else I can do – if it's gonna happen I might as well just learn to deal with it, right?"

"But –"

"Popular kids usually don't care about these kinds of things. They don't even notice how they hurt other people…I know you're not that kind of person Rachel, but it doesn't surprise me that you didn't know this happened to me before. You're oblivious to your surroundings because all you care about is your stupid popularity."

The words coming out of his mouth stung her, but she couldn't be angry with him, he was right.

"Reputation isn't everything Rachel…as soon as you leave high school you'll be a nobody again. So what's the point? Working so hard to stay at the top, knowing the second you get in to college or university, you're at the bottom of the pyramid again…I just don't get it."

She stood there and thought about what he had just said. Who said all jocks were stupid? She was pretty sure what just came out of Finn Hudson's mouth was true, and the most intelligent thing she had heard out of a teenager, and she had failed to realize it.

"You're right…"

She smiled. Finn looked down at her curiously.

"I'm such an idiot…here I was, worrying about wondering if I should get to know you or not, when I should have been all along…"

She reached up on her tiptoes, and kissed his forehead.

"Thank you, Finn. You've taught me something I should have known myself. I won't hesitate to be friends with you anymore."

He smirked, grabbing the towel out of her tiny hands.

"Well, I'll teach you something else you don't know. You're way too slow at cleaning this stuff up. Let the master show you how it's done!"

…

Despite getting a slushy facial, Finn grinned widely as he walked around the music store. It had been a great day over all. He had impressed Rachel, she kissed him on the forehead, and now they were friends!

_Yes! Thank you word vomit! _

He picked up a Journey cd, one of his favourite bands, then moved on to the next section. He started to think of ways he could impress Rachel, and maybe showing her his interest in music would help.

_What else is good? Uhhh__…_

He reached over to grab a cd from Queen, when his hand met with someone else's. He immediately pulled away.

"Sorry, dude!"

"It's okay, you have good taste in music, I see."

He looked up to see a curly-haired boy grinning at him. This guy had to be new in town, because Finn didn't recognize his face at all. The stranger held his hand out for a shake.

"My name's Jesse, what's yours?"

…..

Ooooh :P Hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it! Please comment and let me know what you think!

Live&Love GLEE! :)


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